Page 45 of A First Sight

I shrugged. “I don’t have a lot that I want. Mostly my clothes and a few electronics.”

If he had an opinion about it, he didn’t offer it. Instead, he reached out to take the bigger of the two suitcases.

Before I followed him out the door, I left my house and car keys on the counter, then locked the door from the inside. As the door clicked behind me, something inside me unclenched.

I made it out. Alive. And that wasn’t always a guarantee.

Then, as Drake and I were a foot away from where he parked at the curb, a car pulled up. I didn’t recognize it, only the two people inside.

Dale and Chelsey.

I was surprised but not bothered. I had suspected Dale was cheating on me, so seeing him with Chelsey wasn’t a shock. Chelsey must’ve known about the incident. Even if she believed his story that I hit him first, I still couldn’t understand why she wanted to be involved with him.

Then again, I stayed with him for three years, so maybe I wasn’t one to judge.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Dale sounded rather pleased, which should have been funny considering his two black eyes and a bruised jaw.

“I’m just getting my things.” I could feel Drake at my back. If I even hinted I needed him to step in, he would. His presence gave me the strength to stay steady.

“I don’t want you here,” Dale said, that familiar, arrogant smile curving his lips. “You and your boyfriend are dangerous. It’s why I had Chelsey take me back to her place when she bailed me out last night. For my protection.”

I glanced at Chelsey. The blush on her cheeks told me what else she had done for him last night.

“Trust me, Dale, the last thing I want is to be anywhere near you.” I looked at him.

Something ugly crossed his face, but it disappeared before Chelsey could see it.

“I hope you didn’t take any of my things. I’d hate to press charges for theft.”

“Everything I have, I paid for myself,” I said. “And I have the receipts to prove it.”

“I’d love to take your word for it, but I don’t know if I can trust you.” He glanced behind me at Drake. “I mean, it looks to me like you set me up yesterday. Attacking me and then having your boyfriend there help assault me when I tried to defend myself. Now you come to my house to take my stuff while I’m gone?”

My grip on my suitcase tightened, but I didn’t let anything else show on my face.

“Stay the fuck away from her, asshole,” Drake said. He opened the passenger door for me and then went around to the driver’s side.

“Hey, man, I can tell you right now that she’s not worth it,” Dale said. “I mean, sure, she’ll let you fuck her in the ass or go down on you at a club, but she ain’t that good.”

Bile rose in my throat, and I had to swallow hard to keep from throwing up. I looked at Drake. He showed a tight expression, but other than that, he didn’t seem to react to Dale’s comments. That made it easier to ignore Dale as he ranted about talking to his cop buddies to have Drake arrested.

We pulled away from the curb without a word.

As Dale disappeared in the rearview mirror, I took a deep breath of relief, leaned back in my seat and turned my head to admire my hero. It was refreshing to be with a man who could control his temper.

Drake Mac Gilleain kept getting better and better.

THIRTY-FIVE

DRAKE

Neither Maggienor I spoke on the drive home, but the silence was welcomed. The things Dale said had infuriated me. My hands still shook with the intensity of my emotions. I had only kept myself from saying or doing anything violent to him because Maggie was there. I didn’t want to risk her being injured in the inevitable fight between me and Dale.

As I entered my building’s parking garage, I was finally calm.

“How about steak for dinner?” I asked as I carried her suitcase to the elevator. I kept my tone casual and only glanced at her, but I was more aware of her than I’d been of anyone in a long time.

“You don’t need to feel obligated to feed me,” she said. “You’ve already done so much.”

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